Tag Archive | Young Adult

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As Adam tries to convince Eve he wants her and not just her DNA, Eve discovers a hidden world of interstellar traders, human “genetic cows,” and teen abductions by a government that will do anything to control the Teluosians on Earth.

When Eve’s mom is kidnapped, loyalties are tested. Is Eve Adam’s true love or his next “genetic cow?”

“Adam,” I whispered in his ear. My hands held him in my embrace. “Adam, please talk to me. Help is on the way.”

Adam moaned and for a moment I felt as if he heated up like a blanket and drew the heat out of me as well. I heard the wind rattling outside, and I wondered what I would do if someone came by. How could I protect us? What if the people who had done the damage in Lily’s room returned? My eyes burned as the thought came to me, and I still didn’t know what to do.

I felt his hand on mine and his head tilted back. “I’m pretty sure I told you to go, not get help.

I reached out and didn’t even try to hide the tears as they fell. “You were saying a whole bunch of things that I couldn’t trust. Don’t worry about it. I won’t hold you to it.

He turned away from me and tried to laugh. When he did, he groaned, and I held him closer. “I didn’t call an ambulance but someone I know.”

“Good.”

“What happened?”

“If Lily were here she would say ‘the situation just got serious.'” Then he fell into a fit of laughing, groaning

“Adam! This isn’t the time to make jokes. You looked like you lost a fight with the football team.”

He didn’t answer. In fact, I was sure he wouldn’t answer me at all and then he spoke. “I did lose this fight, but I’m going to fix it.”

About the Author

Toni Edge is a former juvenile delinquent and honorary member of the truancy club. Now, she likes to teach teens who remind her of herself. She also likes to read everything, a habit she picked up during her truancy days. For all the rest of her free time she likes to write young adult paranormal/science fiction stories that would have made her teen years so much clearer, if the stories had been true.

I write romance novels. Contemporary women’s fiction is the category I’ve decided they fit into, or maybe Chick Lit. I’ve started (and almost finished) four. I like female protagonists in their late-twenties/early thirties (like I keep thinking I still am). My protagonists are women who are searching for their place in the world, coming to terms with realistic relationships and (lately) having children. The novels are written in the third person, often from both male and female perspectives.

So why is my first self-published novel written in the first person? By a sixteen-year-old girl? And why is it about dragons?

I didn’t set out to write the book. The book found me: Last Easter to be precise. I woke one morning, after a broken night full of strange dreams, and the entire story was in my head. Unfortunately by the time I’d wrestled past two small children to find pen and paper (or, more accurately, my mobile phone) the story had evaporated, as they so often do. I believe if I could only capture my dreams, writing would come much easier to me than it does now.

All that remained was the idea of dragons and the first line of the story. “My name is Leah, and I know the time and place of my death.”

In the twelve months since I wrote that first line it hasn’t changed much. It now reads “My name is Leah. For a quarter of my life I have known the time and place of my death. I have spent the last four years running, from the truth, from the place. I can’t run from the time. It’s tomorrow.”

And that’s how Dragon Wraiths was born. By the beginning of May 2012 (less than a month after the dream) I had written 35,000 words and I still didn’t really understand what the novel was about. I hadn’t got to the part with the dragons. I was lost and decided Young Adult literature was not for me.

I abandoned the novel and concentrated on releasing my novel, Baby Blues & Wedding Shoes (or Pictures of Love as it was called then) as a self-published e-book. My writing journey is interspersed with self-doubt, not just about my abilities as a writer but about combining writing with the raising two small children. I often feel that, if I’m going to send them to nursery two days a week, I should be earning money on those two days. I wanted a finished book out there earning pennies and I felt the Chick Lit novel was a better bet.

Then in July I found out about the Mslexia Children’s Novel competition and remembered my languishing YA novel. Baby Blues was with beta readers and I decided, Why not? Suddenly I had a deadline of September for completion of the first chapter and November for the finished/edited manuscript. I discovered I work best to deadlines. Generally I’m terrible at knuckling down and getting on with editing but I really wanted to enter the competition.

To cut a rambling story short I entered the Mslexia competition and was long-listed (meaning they requested the full manuscript). I didn’t make the shortlist but I was encouraged enough to pass the novel to friends and family. Their reaction was amazing. My stepdad, who is a slow reader, finished the book in a day and said “Next one, please.”

I started querying the novel, although it is over-length for a YA book at 112k words (the average is 60-70k). When that didn’t work I decided to self-publish and see what happened.

And so here I am. It’s early days, I haven’t sold many copies, but over 1200 have been downloaded during free promotion days. I’ve received several positive reviews, including one that compared Dragon Wraiths to Anne MaCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern series. Praise indeed.

I’m still not sure self-publishing is for me. Or Young Adult for that matter. But I’m glad Dragon Wraiths found me, in my sleep-deprived state. I enjoyed writing and editing it more than anything I’ve done before or since. Thinking about the Happy Ever After ending still makes me smile and leaves a warm feeling in my heart. And who knows, one day it might be as famous as Dragons of Pern. Now wouldn’t that be nice?

About Dragon Wraiths

It’s the day before Leah’s sixteenth birthday. Instead of planning the perfect party she’s stuck in a shabby B&B in the middle of nowhere. She’s not worrying about pimples and presents: she has bigger things to freak her out. Like her Mother’s dying words telling her she will die on her sixteenth birthday. Spending her teenage years escaping from falling trees, burning buildings, killer bees—and the unseen enemies trying to murder her. Or falling in love with a boy who won’t admit she exists, even though they’ve been on the run together for months.

As her birthday approaches, Leah tries to piece together the events that led her there and wonders if she’ll live past lunchtime. What she doesn’t know is her future will include conspiracies, dragons, new powers: Her first kiss.

My name is Leah. For a quarter of my life I’ve known the time and place of my death. I’ve spent the last four years running – from the truth, from the place. I can’t run from the time. It’s tomorrow.

I look down at the words and, with a sigh, think about scrubbing them out. I sound like I’m writing a gothic novel instead of an explanation of my life. Out the window I can see a bunch of bedraggled birds lined up on the power cables like sheet music. It reminds me of tortuous piano lessons with Miss Hay. I’d probably rather be there than here right now. At least rapping my knuckles with a ruler didn’t actually kill me.

Past the power-lines, low hills fill the horizon. Not the dancing green hills I grew up with. No, these are craggy like a huddle of grumpy old men waiting for the bus. The sky is grey, the hills pewter and ochre, mixing to form a muddy palette of colours. It doesn’t feel like summer. The nearest thing to sunshine is the gold swirling pattern on the curtains. I know if I turn around to face the room I will see the matching bedspread and frilly lampshade. It’s a wretched place to spend what could be my last day on Earth.

Uncle Theo says he chose this place, “for the location, Leah, not the décor.” Just as well.

They’re downstairs, Luke and Theo. I wonder what they’re talking about. What is there left to say? Either we’ve done enough, and I’m far enough away to escape my fate, or this time tomorrow they’ll be heading back south without me. It doesn’t seem the basis for a jolly conversation.

About the Author

Amanda Martin was born in Hertfordshire in 1976. After graduating with first class honours from Leeds University she wandered around the world trying to find her place in it. She tried various roles, in England and New Zealand, including Bar Manager, Marketing Manager, Consultant and Artist before deciding that WriterMummy summed her up best. She lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, two children and labradoodle Kara. She can mostly be found at http://writermummy.wordpress.com

Susana’s Morning Room is celebrating the second anniversary of The Romance Reviews with the Treasuring Theresa Lucky In Love Giveaway. To enter the contest, click the TRR graphic at right or the Treasuring Theresa cover graphic in the side bar. Before you go, leave a comment on today’s guest post for five contest entries. Be sure to include your email address in your comment!

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Shawna has hidden some Easter eggs in this blog post. If you find them, you can win a Speak of the Devil prize pack and a $25 Amazon gift card!

To enter, read through her post today. In it, you will find an Easter egg (a letter that stands out.) Find her other blog entries for the tour. (HINT: the list is posted on her website at www.shawnaromkey.com.) You will find Easter eggs in the starred blog posts, too. Once you’ve found the eggs in each post, put them together to find the secret passcode and tweet the code including @sromkey #speakofthedevil (ANOTHER HINT: the letters are in order.) (AND ANOTHER HINT! The passcode will look like this: — — – —- — — —–)

One winner will be chosen from the entries on Easter, March 31! Good luck!

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About Speak of the Devil

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

After dying in a car accident withher two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to her dad’s to come to terms with the event and meets some people at her new school who seem all too eager to help her heal. Sliding deeper into sorrow and trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are and that they are falling too.

Can she find the strength to move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, find a way to stop a divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?

About the Author

Shawna grew up in around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.

She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Rain fell, not uncommon for late spring in Missouri. “If you don’t like the weather here,” my grandfather would say, “wait five minutes.” Of course, I’d visited distant relatives in Maine once before, and they said the same thing.

Julie fumbled with the wipers while I pulled the sun visor down to check my face in its little rectangular mirror, even though I’d only left my vanity like five minutes ago. The lights on either side lit up the interior of the car. I reached into my tiny party purse to find my lip gloss, which was easy to locate since I’d only packed the essentials in my bag: phone, some cash, and make-up. As I glanced at myself, I saw Mike in the reflection, smiling at me from the back seat. I stuck my tongue out at him, making him laugh, and put on the lip-gloss, fully aware of how flirty I acted.

The windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the sudden downpour. The pitter-patter turned to thumping. Hail came down in gumball-sized pellets. “Damn.” Julie jerked the steering wheel to keep The Whale off the curb.

I pressed my lips together to smooth out the gloss. “Damn is right. I didn’t bring a jacket.”

The Whale swerved to the right crunching along the gravel on the side of the road. I braced myself in my seat. Julie leaned up to the steering wheel and peered over it as my grandmother sometimes did when she drove. I squinted because of the stupid light up visor mirror. I slammed it shut, but Julie panicked and over corrected, pulling The Whale to the left and careening over the yellow dotted line in the middle of the street.

“Julie!” Mike shouted.

Time slowed and ticked out in heartbeats.

Ba bum.

Julie cringed, her hands moving up to shield her face. Her head turned away from the highway.

Ba bum.

Mike reached protectively from the back seat.

Ba bum.

The headlights illuminated the rail of the overpass.

Ba bum.

The car hit the rail on the opposite side of the road with a hard thud.

Ba bum.

Crap. We’re going over the bridge.

Ba bum.

The Whale’s nose pointed down toward the water.

Ba bum.

A jolt forward and my forehead slammed into the dashboard.

Ba bum.

The Whale flipped in the air. I’m upside down.

Ba bum.

Pain.

Ba bum.

Did my mom say good-bye when I left?

Ba bum.

Cold water rushed into the car.

Ba bum.

Is this it?

Ba bum.

I can’t breathe. Oh my God, I can’t breathe. I can’t see or breathe!

My heart quickened. It pounded. The Whale leaned on its side under the surface of the water which rushed in fast, and I couldn’t see a damn thing.

Calm, stay calm. Don’t panic. They say when you’re drowning not to panic because you use up your air faster.
Dammit, am I drowning?

I tried to get myself upright and jerked out of my seatbelt. Luckily, it gave way. I fought the latch to open the door facing up, but the pressure of the water from Black Water River held it closed, trapping me inside.

Jesus. I know this river. It’s more of a creek. It can’t be more than fifteen feet across and ten feet deep.
I pushed at the door. Opening my mouth to scream, I swallowed water.

I couldn’t see or hear Julie or Mike. My watch ticked. Or was it my heart beating?

Ba bum. Ba bum. Ba bum.

Darkness.

Silence.

Cold.

Wet.

Defying gravity.

Nothing.

The dreams came. Like a good sleep you don’t want to wake up from. I felt heavy and floaty. I wore this long white gauzy gown and the wind blew my dress and my hair like in some feminine hygiene commercial. I could breathe slowly and deeply. Completely relaxed and at peace, but I was alone.

I floated along in a white space for a while. Drifting. Breathing. Relaxing. Had I gone to a spa? After an immeasurable amount of time, others appeared. They wore white clothing, too, and they floated like me, reaching out. They opened their arms as if to welcome me to them.

I stopped and frowned. I heard no sound, and I didn’t know who these white floaty people were or why they welcomed me. They smiled, genuinely happy, and held their arms out to me. I panicked.

Where’s my mom? My family? Wait, Mike and Julie were just with me, where are they? Are those wings?
I noticed the others floating with me had white feathery wings.

Today my guest on Susana’s Morning Room is Margaret Fieland, who is here to tell us about her science fiction book for teens, Relocated.

Welcome, Margaret! What’s Relocated all about?

Margaret:

My main character, Keth, finds himself wisked away to a military base on an alien planet with almost no notice. His dad’s mission is to find an neutralize terrorists, and Keth worries something bad will happen to his dad. He’s plunged into a new environment and left to figure things out for himself. Here’s a letter (which does not appear in the book) he wrote to his best friend back home, Mark.

Dear Mark:

I promised I’d write you when I got to Aleyne, so here’s the letter. I don’t know when you’ll get it, since they send mail by message capsules, or on the space ships, and the one we came on left already. The next one is in six months.

Anyway, right now we’re staying with an Aleyni friend of Dad’s. His name is Ardaval, and he looks really old. I spent yesterday with him, and it was really fun. Today I went to the port school. It was pretty boring, and the kids are boring, too. There’s this one cute girl, Henrietta, but she has a boyfriend, Tom. She’s bad news. I had to help her with her Aleyni language lesson because the teacher, John, was mad because I already spoke the language, and then she asked me to come over to her house. Fat chance. If I ever did, I bet Tom would kill me.

I don’t think I ever told you, but Dad made me learn Aleyni, and we always had these Aleyni exchange students hanging out at our apartment back on Earth, so I had lots of practice. I guess he wants me to follow him into the Federation Guard. I always figured I’d join up when I was old enough.

Do you know I’m sixteen in Aleyni years? If I were an Aleyni, I’d be studying with an Aleyni master instead of in school at the port with a bunch of jorks.

How did the soccer tournament go? I don’t think they have soccer teams here, so I won’t be playing. I miss you all. You can write back, but I probably won’t get your letter for a year.

Your friend,

Keth

What does Aleyne look like? I describe Keth’s reaction to the scenery in the first chapter, which you can read on the publisher’s website, but here are a couple of pictures I drew with GIMP, an image manipulating program, of what I imagine it’s like.

About Relocated

When fourteen-year-old Keth’s dad is transferred to planet Aleyne, he doesn’t know what to expect. Certainly not to discover Dad grew up here, and studied with Ardaval, a noted Aleyni scholar. On Aleyne, Keth’s psi ability develops. However, psi is illegal in the Terran Federation. After a dangerous encounter with two Terran teenagers conflict erupts between Keth and his father. Keth seeks sanctuary with Ardaval. Studying with the Aleyne scholar Keth learns the truth about his own heritage. After Keth’s friend’s father, Mazos, is kidnapped, Keth ignores the risks and attempts to free him. Little does he realize who will pay the cost as he becomes involved with terrorists.

I’ll be giving away a copy of the book to one lucky commenter, so do please leave me a comment.

Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has lived in the Boston area since 1978. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein’s “Farmer in the Sky” for her tenth birthday, now long past. In spite of earning her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to put up the first version of her website, a clear indication of the computer generation gap. Thanks to her father’s relentless hounding, she can still recite the rules for pronoun agreement in both English and French. She can also write backwards and wiggle her ears. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines, was published by Inkspotter Publishing in November, 2011. She is the author of Relocated, published by MuseItUp Publishing, and of Sand in the Desert. Her book, The Angry Little Boy, will be published by 4RV Publishing in 2013.

Today I’m pleased to introduce Cecilia Gray, author of The Jane Austen Academy, a series of delightful YA novellas, and also a series of Regency novellas, The Gentlemen Next Door.

Welcome, Cecilia!

Thank you so much for having me!

What is your favorite food? Least favorite? Why?

I love love love love love food. I don’t think I wrote love enough times for you to understand how much I love food. I know everyone thinks they love food, but trust me, everyone else is half-assing it. I genuinely adore to eat.

That’s a long-winded way for me to say I don’t have a favorite food, the same way moms don’t have favorite children. You just can’t choose one. As to my least favorite food: I’m not a fan of the deconstructionist meals that were popular a few years ago. For readers who were spared this trend: deconstructionist meals would “deconstruct” something into its base components and serve them separately. For example, a “descontructed hamburger” would consist of a meatball, a little brioche bun, and a spoonful of pickles which would be served separately on a platter for you to nibble on. Not that there’s anything wrong with meatballs, brioche or pickles, but don’t tell me I’m getting a burger. Cuz I’m not.

What would we find under your bed?

A flashlight. I’ve woken up too many times to blackouts and have taken out a knee while feeling my way around.

Say you could fly you anywhere in the world. Where would you most likely want to go?

I’ve been reading Laini Taylor’s fantasy series set in Prague and am obsessed with going—although preferably not getting mixed up in an eras-old war between angels and demons. I’d just want to drink strong coffee and eat bramborove, utopenci and palacinky.

Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

Bertoldt Brecht—Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.

The Jane Austen Academy series are modern retellings of Jane Austen classics set at a beachside California boarding school.

The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it’s about to turn the Academy—and the lives of its students—totally upside down…

Try the first book in the series now!

Named to RT Books Reviews “What’s Hot!” List for 2012

Named to Kirkus Reviews Best of 2012 (starred review)

FALL FOR YOU

To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He’s a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She’s a driven study-a-holic just barely keeping up with tuition. It’s obvious that Dante thinks he’s way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pressing her buttons.

But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie’s quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets… Secrets Lizzie can’t seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries…